Society and Culture

Sheen's image as the "Bad Boy" is not an image that he necessarily means to project.  This image is sometimes a latent function of his actions.  Earlier this year Sheen's kids were removed from his home with police force.  This was an event that was taped and shown live on Ustream by someone in the Sheen camp.  Although, the reason for the video is unknown, it makes Sheen seem like he is a bad parent.  Sheen, while compassionate and caring during his kids’ departure, still taped this event and showed it to the public. His "I Don't Care" attitude could have negative effects on his children and the way his projected image.  It seems he is trying to be caring, but at the same time he is exploiting the situation for his own benefit.

            "Social types are role behaviors formed by a group: an idealized concept of how people are expected to be or act," (Dyer, pg. 47). This would explain the bi-directional relationship with Sheens intertextual works and personal life.  We see Charlie Sheen as the "Bad Boy" because of the role that he is casted for.  Yet he is casted for these roles because of his publicly projected "Bad Boy" image.  This bi-directional relationship goes both ways, it reflects on each other.  Furthermore, this relationship is essential to the way Sheen is casted in his intertextual work because it makes the roles that he plays believable.

            Sheen's self-projected image on society is contradictory of his projected image throughout media.  Sheen's self-proclaimed "Winning" lifestyle includes lots of women, partying, drugs, and alcohol.  Sheen projects an image that he is living a lifestyle that many dream of, but few actual indulge in.  His projected media image is that of someone who is very similar to a "normal" middle-age man.  Sheen has had several shattered relationships and failed marriages.  Although, these failed relationships are with famous actresses, models, and porn stars they are relatable because most people have had to deal with those same failings.  He has had to deal with child custody battles, addiction, and abuse.  Many of these problems resonate within American Culture and many people relate to the same problems that Sheen has faced.  In many ways Sheen is seen as ordinary and extraordinary due to the very different projected images of Sheen.